


Not With A Thousand Swords

by Actual_Sleeping_Beauty



Series: The Bonds of Love [2]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Angst, Fluff, I promise there is fluff, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Moving In Together, The Princess Bride References, You just have to wait a few chapters, companion work, yes we have graduated from nightmare boyfriends to nightmare fiancés
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24435421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Actual_Sleeping_Beauty/pseuds/Actual_Sleeping_Beauty
Summary: A collection of moments involvingThe Princess Bride, which you should watch. If you like Carry On I can almost guarantee you'll like it. It's also an adventure story with a love story embedded in it. You don't have to watch it, but you should!So anywayyyyy, here you have the companion work toFive Times Baz Startled Simon, and the One Time Simon Startles Him Back. You should read that one first if you want the end of this one to make sense.Beta'd, as ever, by the amazingWhat_Is_A_Mild_Opinion.Thanks for reading!
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Series: The Bonds of Love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764703
Comments: 20
Kudos: 26





	1. Gently... Gently

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in the year in between the end of Carry On and the beginning of Wayward Son, sometime after Christmas. Simon is struggling, which is to be expected.
> 
> Also I meant it when I said the reading experience will be improved by watching The Princess Bride. You should really do that, it'll just make the references a lot more fun, and the movie is excellent.

**Simon, January of 2016**

Baz and Penny have decided that we need to have a movie night. I don’t much care what we do. I don’t much care about anything at this point, but if it makes them feel like they’re helping me, I guess that’s fine.

They’re currently fighting over what we’re going to watch. I wish they would stop arguing, we all know that Penny is going to win, she usually does.

“Bunce, you cannot deny that  _ Hamlet  _ is a cinematic masterpiece.”

“I never said it wasn’t. All I said was that we’ve already watched it four times in the past six months and I will not watch it again tonight.”

“Mel Gibson, Penelope. Mel Gibson.”

“Basilton, I will not watch it with you. And seeing as it’s my flat…” 

“Fine, but you had better pick something good.”

“I always do.”

Baz scoffs and walks into the sitting room, flopping dramatically on the sofa next to me. He always looks at ease; if I didn’t know him so well I wouldn’t be able to see the tension in his shoulders. I haven’t spoken all day, I know that’s why he’s like this.

“She always wins, you know. I don’t know why you bother.” I see his shoulders loosen a bit, and feel the small smile on his face more than I see it.

“But, love, that’s not quite true. I request  _ Hamlet _ every movie night, and four times in the past six months I’ve won. That’s something.” I don’t say anything. I feel his smile become a bit pinched, and wind my tail around his ankle. I appreciate his joking with me, but I don’t have any more energy for talking at the moment.

“Here we go!” Penny pops a DVD into the player, then comes to sit on my other side. She throws the blanket from the back of the sofa and tosses it to Baz. He looks at her, tilting his head slightly, and she says, “I know you get cold, and goodness knows I don’t need a blanket, not sitting next to Simon at least.” 

The movie starts playing, showing a young boy, apparently sick, in his bedroom. Baz huffs quietly, and spreads out the blanket. He holds up one side of it, offering to let me move closer to him. I shift under the blanket, and his eyes widen, just for a moment, and just a tiny bit. That’s funny. I hadn’t thought it had been so long since I had chosen to sit this close to him, but now that I think of it, I can’t remember when I last did. His hand finds mine under the blanket, then flips palm-up: another invitation. I decide to accept this one too. I suppose if he’s offering, he must not mind that I’m a bit broken.

The boy’s grandfather is reading to him now. I must not have been paying attention, because I missed what the book is called. Penny is fixated on the screen. She must really love this movie. I’m not sure why, it seems like a silly romance. That’s not her style.

_ That day she was amazed to discover that when he was saying, “As you wish,” what he meant was, “I love you.” _

Baz squeezes my hand. I squeeze back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baz likes Mel Gibson in Hamlet because he reminds him of Simon.  
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> SPOILERS FOR IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST FIC IN THE SERIES
> 
> So remember how I said I wanted to write Baz's proposal? Turns out it needs some set-up, and this is part of that. Also, it's an excuse for me to write about other people enjoying my favorite movie, which makes me happy.  
> I hope you like this, and I'm sorry for the angst. It doesn't make me happy, but I do think it's necessary for the eventual payoff.  
> Thanks for reading!


	2. You Might Have Been Truly Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon is high-key struggling at this point, and Baz doesn't know how to help, because they are both terrible at communication.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is some angst.

**Baz, A Few Months Later**

I pause at the door to their flat, just for a moment. Sometimes I just need a moment to prepare myself for the torture of watching Simon sink even further into himself. I miss him. I miss him so much.

When I open the door, however, he’s laughing. I haven’t heard him laugh in months. I wonder if he’s having a mental break; that’s the only reason I can think of that he would be laughing, he’s been so closed off lately. And then I round the corner into the sitting room, and everything suddenly makes sense. He’s watching that idiotic movie Penelope picked out a few months ago,  _ The Princess Bride _ . The only reason I hadn’t made fun of her relentlessly for it had been because it was the first time since Christmas that Simon hadn’t seemed scared of me. Currently it’s in my top five favorite movies.

“Hello love, how are you?” He turns, his face falling at the sound of my voice. I don’t even think he knows it’s happening.

“I can turn this off, you probably need it quiet to work…” He trails off, mumbling something at the end that sounds far too much like “sorry” for my taste.

“Simon, no. You should keep watching it.” I don’t keep going, but I know he can hear the rest of the sentence that lingers, unspoken, in the air. His wings fold down around his shoulders, encasing him in a cocoon of red. He whispers something so quietly that, even though I’m straining to hear him, I don’t quite catch it. He glances up, and must see confusion written in my face.

“Are you sure?” His shoulders are hunched, his eyes barely meeting mine. It breaks my heart.

“Yes, love, I’m sure. Do you want me to stay or go?” It hurts so much that he might choose the second option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so that last line killed me, so I'm sorry for that. This is the end of the angst though, I promise.


	3. Lies Do Not Become Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon has a discussion with Penny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're done with our angst! It makes me really happy to be able to move into happier territory, because that's what we're here for anyway.

** Penelope, 2018, post-Wayward Son **

Simon is watching _The Princess Bride_ , and I’m not sure what that means. Usually I can tell what’s going on in his head based on what he’s watching. When he’s happy he watches _10 Things I Hate About You_. Since it came out he’s been watching _Only The Brave_ when he’s sad. But I haven’t seen him watch this since that one day before we went to America. Maybe this is a bad sign.

“Hey Simon. How’s your day been?” He waves a hand at me in greeting, but doesn’t say anything. I walk over to the sitting room to check on him.

“Penny, quit hovering, I’m fine.” He glances up at me, and I try to fix my face. He snorts and looks back to the telly. I don’t think I succeeded. “I know I was having a crisis last time I watched this, but I’m fine right now, just trying to think through something.” I’m not sure I believe him, but I walk away anyway.

I’m working on a project at the kitchen table when he next says something.

“Penny? Could you come here for a moment?”

I go sit next to him on the sofa, and wait. He never could be rushed into saying anything.

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“Do I think what’s possible?” He gestures to the screen. Buttercup is standing in front of Humperdinck in her blue dress, defiant. “I mean, she definitely should yell at him, yeah.”

“No, this next part.”

 _Westley and I are joined by the bonds of love. And you cannot track that, not with a thousand bloodhounds. And you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords. So when I say you are a coward --_ He pauses the movie.

“That. Do you think that’s possible?” I wish I knew what he wanted me to say, but his eyes are big and blue and utterly impenetrable. He’s hiding what he wants on purpose. He almost never does.

“I don’t know.” I’ve decided that what he wants in honesty. “I hope it is. I don’t think love can save you from death though.” He looks at me, his head tilted just slightly.

“Okay. Thank you. We’ll have to agree to disagree on that last point though.”

_\-- it is only because you are the slimiest weakling ever to crawl the earth!_

So I guess that means I’m dismissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penny in Carry On would have said yes, 100%, but her encounter with Micah has changed her perspective some, which makes me sad.  
> Also Simon really does think Baz saved him from death, and we already know Simon saved Baz from death in Carry On, so that's why he disagrees with her on that point.
> 
> Only The Brave is an excellent and soul-crushing movie, and Simon and Baz would both like it. They also both think they would be Kat in 10 Things. Baz would actually be Kat.
> 
> This is probably my favorite line of Buttercup's from the whole movie, and one of my favorite lines of the whole movie.
> 
> Thanks for reading, as always, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	4. Think It'll Work?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving in together!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally get to edit the tags! We have now returned to your regularly scheduled fluff: enjoy!

**Simon, 2019**

How is it possible that we have this much stuff? We’re two men in our early twenties, and it’s not like I owned a single thing four years ago, not even clothing. Baz rounds the corner and he’s got another _three_ boxes.

“How on earth do we have this much stuff?” He shrugs and sets down the boxes. All three of them are labeled **BOOKS.** I knit my eyebrows together and say, “I see you’ve decided not to hide your super-strength this time.” He rolls his eyes.

“Would you rather I did this more slowly? No one’s even around to see us.” He does have a point there.

“Fine, but let’s move quickly, in case the neighbors start to come home.” He leans over and kisses me quickly, then picks up his boxes of books and walks up the stairs.

* * *

I drag myself out of bed and glance at the clock on the bedside table. _2 in the morning_. Why on _earth_ is Baz awake? I walk out to the sitting room and see him. He’s sitting on the floor, surrounded by stacks and stacks of CDs, DVDs, and board games.

“Baz, what in the bloody hell are you doing?” My words are sharp, but my tone is amused. He looks up, black hair tousled.

He hums for a moment, then says, “I’m organizing, Simon. Isn’t that obvious?”

“It’s two am.”

“I am aware.” I hesitate for a moment.

“Would you like some help?” He smiles up at me, a real smile, the blinding kind that reminds me why we’re moving in together instead of still living in separate flats. I sink down onto the floor in the midst of his piles. “What’s your organizational system?”

“I’m separating them first into what’s yours and what’s mine, and that’s helping with the genre. Then after that I’ll sort them further by genre, and then alphabetize them within said genres. The games are being divided by whether they take a long or short amount of time to play.”

“You do know that the alphabetical order thing will get messed up almost immediately?” His brows knit together, wrinkling just above the bridge of his nose.

“Not if you don’t mess it up, Snow.” He still calls me Snow on occasion when he’s frustrated.

“First thing, Simon. Second thing, not because I’m going to mess it up, because we’re always buying new movies and music, and I know you’re going to slot it so it fits exactly, and there won’t be room for anything new. Let’s just do it by genre, you’ll still be able to find everything easily enough. Plus, if you do it alphabetically you’re going to have to split up series, and that’ll annoy you more than not having it in alphabetical order.”

He looks bemused that I’ve come up with all that off the top of my head, but still says, “Okay.” We keep sorting until he lets out a snort, and holds up a DVD case. “I can’t believe you stole this from Penny.”

“What do you mean? That’s mine, I made sure to get a copy before I moved out.” His mouth falls open, and he shakes his head slightly.

He finally chokes out, “Simon Snow, I cannot believe you,” making me chuckle.

“You didn’t really think I’d move into a new flat without _The Princess Bride_ , did you? Come on, let’s watch it now.” He protests, but I’ve already stolen the DVD from him and am putting it in the player. He acquiesces, and we sit, surrounded by our piles of media, watching a story not unlike our own, until we’re both asleep on the floor.

The screen bathes us in light, and the next morning I wake up with words ringing in my ears.

_Does it got any sports in it?_

_Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…_

I look down at Baz for a moment, and with a small laugh, get up to make our tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love these two, and I want them to be happy. Also, if you're looking for a timeline, the first fic goes after this chapter, and before the next chapter. (Y'all aren't ready. I'm not ready. But I am very excited.)
> 
> I feel like the quote for this chapter is pretty descriptive of their lives, and I've been waiting to use it until I found the right spot.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Fetch Me That Pitcher?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This picks up immediately after the first work in the series, so if you haven't read that please go read it! This won't make much sense without it.
> 
> Penny is a long-suffering best friend, and honestly, Baz deserves to be taken down a peg.
> 
> Also, yes, I have decided it's June, even though I have no idea what the weather in England is like in June. All I know is here in the American South, July is insufferable, and Mordelia would not want to attend a picnic in July.
> 
> Princess Bride fans already know what the next chapter title is, because this one has nothing to do with the action of the chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi hi! I'm back!  
> I have no beta for this chapter, because tbh I'm not sure if I like it and things have been more than a little hectic over these last few months. Also, sorry for just up and disappearing, but the world did go to shit and I've just started college, so that's my excuse.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

** Penelope, June 11th, 2021  **

We’re slouched on the sofa, watching The Princess Bride, and honestly, Buttercup is annoying, but I love this movie. It doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test, or, in fact, any feminist test, but I still adore it. Baz and I are both snuggled in next to Simon, because he’s warm, and I’m so very sleepy, and then Simon is nudging me with his wing, saying, “Penny, wake up. You can’t miss this part.” And he’s right, this is my favorite part.

_Westley and I are joined by the bonds of love. And you cannot track that, not with a thousand bloodhounds. And you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords. So when I say you are a coward, it is only because you are the slimiest weakling ever to crawl the earth!_

“I love when she yells at him,” Baz murmurs, leaning more into Simon’s side for a moment. I’m missing something there, but that’s okay. I’m too tired to try to figure it out, and I don’t think either of them would tell me anyway. It’s something that’s just theirs. And then it hits me.

“I would like to change my answer.” They both look over at me. Baz looks confused, but Simon is just waiting to see what I’ll say next; he knows what I’m referring to. I speak over Humperdinck, so that just Simon should be able to hear me, although I’m pretty sure Baz still can: “Yes. We’ll still have to agree to disagree on the second point, but I’d like to change my original answer to _yes_.”

“Anything in particular convince you?” He’s smirking just a little bit. I smack him on the shoulder so he’ll stop looking so smug.

“You already know what that answer is.”

“I’d like to hear you say it.”

“I will not give you that satisfaction.”

Baz interrupts with, “Either explain what you’re talking about or be quiet so we can watch the movie.” It’s Simon’s decision, and he turns and drops a kiss on the top of Baz’s head, then settles back into the sofa, so I also settle back to watch the end of the movie.

* * *

_Grandpa? Maybe you could come over and read it again tomorrow._

_As you wish._

Simon stretches, and Baz and I both sit up. I yawn, and Baz says, “Well, I have to agree with the Grandfather. I think it’s time we all went to bed. Big day tomorrow.” He and Simon smile at each other, and I am so happy for them.

I stand and move toward their guest bedroom. “I don’t think I would actually make it back to my flat tonight, so I’m going to stay here, alright?” Baz nods, and I head into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

Simon walks up behind me in the kitchen. I turn, and he says, “Thank you.” I nod, take my glass of water, and go to the guest bedroom. I shuffle over to the dresser, opening my drawer, and pull out the pair of pajamas I have stashed here for occasions like this. I take the pajamas and my toothbrush to the bathroom, and when I come back, I can hear Simon laughing through the wall.

I am so tired, and I absolutely cannot handle this tonight, so I ball my hand up into a fist and knock on the wall between the two bedrooms.

**Simon**

I’m laughing fairly loudly, so Penny knocking on the wall is probably justified. Still, Baz yells back, “What?” louder than seems strictly necessary.

Her voice calls through the wall, only slightly muffled, “I am jet-lagged and I’m going to bed. Please be quiet, or I will come in there and force one of you to sleep on the sofa.” Baz chuckles, but I know she’s serious. Penny does not like to be tired, and from what I understand she has a fairly large role to play tomorrow.

“Sorry Pen, we’ll be quiet. ‘Night.” I’m being serious, but Baz seems to think this is a challenge. He leaves his armchair in the corner of the room, abandoning his book on the bedside table, and joins me on our bed.

“We can be quiet and still have fun, right?” His grey eyes are glinting dangerously, and while I’m a little bit intrigued, I’m also not about to do whatever it is he’s planning.

“Baz, no. I do not like where this is going.” He adopts a skeptical expression, then leans over and kisses me. He’s not playing fair, but I’m not complaining.

He sits back and says, with a smirk, “You don’t like where this is going?” I’m still trying to organize my thoughts when he starts to laugh, saying, “It’s not like we haven’t gotten away with it before. She won’t know.”

“I’m pretty sure she will.” And then, as though to prove my point, Penny’s voice comes through the wall.

“ _Please_ do not have sex tonight. I will hurt you.” Baz just raises one eyebrow. It’s like Penny can see him, because she speaks again. “And, Basilton, for your information, I will know if you decide to ignore me.”

“How?” He’s still wearing that smirk, which is equal parts infuriating and endearing when it’s not directed at me.

“Because,” and then she pauses for a moment, like she’s considering if she really wants to say the next part, “you, in particular, are incapable of being quiet.” That wipes the smirk off his face, and he blushes as deeply as is possible, his skin flushing a light pink. Penny, however, is apparently not done. She continues, “And quite honestly, I feel like I’ve lived through my share of listening to the two of you have loud sex in the room next to mine, and I don’t want to have to repeat that experience tonight.”

Baz appears to be frozen in place, so I call back, “Message received. I don’t think Baz is going to ever recover from this conversation, so thanks for breaking my fiancé.”

I hear her laugh before she says, “Serves him right.”

He’s still sitting there, stock still. I reach over and grab his hand. He doesn’t stop me, but he doesn’t hold my hand either. “Come on love, let’s just go to sleep.”

He stares at me for a moment longer, then whispers, “As you wish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it too much? I really do think Baz deserved it. Please let me know, and talk to me in the comments. I am bored out of my mind in quarantine because my roommate got Covid (she's fine!) even though I have work I should be doing.  
> We all know what's coming next, and I hope you're ready, because honestly I'm not and one of us should be.  
> I have no idea when I'll have the next update ready but hopefully it won't be another three months!


	6. As You Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some unnecessary bickering about name changes, our disaster couple annoying the crap out of Penny and Mordelia, and reverse energy from Simon's proposal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I couldn't stop writing this once I started. These two being happy and chaotic is my favorite, so that's what they are here, plus a healthy dose of ridiculous nervousness from Baz, because as much as he tries to pretend nothing fazes him, he has no chill. Also, everyone is there! Agatha is friends with them, because I really love that dynamic.
> 
> Also this chapter is longer than all the rest of it. Whoops! I got carried away, but oh well, I like it.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Baz, June 12th, 2021**

I wake up before Simon. It’s a combination of nerves and my natural insomnia. Despite the fact that we’re already engaged, that I know he is going to say yes, I am still  _ so _ nervous. He would laugh if he were awake. He would say that it’s a good thing he proposed first so I didn’t have an actual nervous breakdown.

I’m lying there, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, when he stirs, wrapping me up in his arms. I look up at him, but he hasn’t opened his eyes. He’s wearing a small smile, but otherwise he could be asleep. I shift back to my previous position, and my thoughts follow suit, shifting back to anxiety-inducing scenarios that I know will never happen.

Simon sighs and says, “Will you  _ please _ turn your brain off? You’re thinking so loudly you woke me up.”

“I can’t help that my ‘thoughts are loud.’” I lift one hand to make sure he sees the air quotes, provoking a snort.

“Baz. You already know that I’m going to say yes. You are wearing the ring that I gave you.  _ Please. _ I am begging you. Go back to sleep.” I stay motionless and quiet, feeling his chest rise and fall under my head, listening to his heart. “Baz?” When I don’t respond, he groans and flings one arm out behind him, turning on his bedside lamp.

“Come on, sit up.” I do, and he turns so that we meet eyes. “I am going to marry you. I am one hundred percent sure. Okay?”

“I know that. You know I know that. That’s not why I’m stressed.”

He looks at me for a moment. “You’re not going to explain, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Fine. But will you still please try to go back to sleep? Penny does not get to stay over another night, and we will be newly engaged, so…” He gets a laugh out of me with that comment, and it makes him smile. He flicks off the light, and even though I desperately want to keep overthinking everything, I am actually quite tired, and Simon is always so warm, and I’m falling asleep before I can dream up any more nightmares.

* * *

Our door blasts open, the sun streaming through the window, and Penelope is standing in the doorway, and I can tell we’ve slept in too long. Simon holds on to me a little tighter, but doesn’t make a move to get up.

“I am assuming that you two would like to be dressed and decent when Mordelia gets here, so this is your one warning. She’s forty-five minutes away.” Penny spins on her heel and is gone before I can say anything.

“Do we have to get up?” I sit up and glare at Simon, who huffs out a breath when he sees my face. “Yeah, I already knew the answer to that one.”

“I’m showering first.” He rolls his eyes. “Hey, I’m going over last minute details with them until you come to join us or Penny throttles me, whichever comes first.” That gets a chuckle out of him, and he turns over and grabs his phone, so I get up to shower.

* * *

**Simon**

When I walk out of the bathroom, pulling on a t-shirt that I know Baz is going to yell at me about, I quickly realize that I don’t have to worry about that, seeing as he’s already yelling at Penny and Mordelia for something.

“Stop your plotting, I’m coming in.” They continue yelling at one another, and I decide that I’ve given them fair warning.

It’s hard to tell who’s saying what, except for Baz, who’s yelling, “I am not an idiot, I haven’t even proposed yet, why would we have discussed this? No, Mordelia, it did not come up when we talked about marriage! Penny, leave me alone!” It’s really quite amusing watching him get all flustered over something that’s probably pretty minor, but not amusing enough for me to let it ruin his mood.

“What on earth has got you so worked up?” I hug him from behind, settling my chin in between his shoulder blades. I wrap my wings around him, effectively caging in his arms, because he was about to hit Penny in the head, what with all the gesticulating.

“Baz here is trying to say that he won’t hyphenate his name, because it already is hyphenated.” Penny looks truly horrified, and Baz stiffens against me. I just laugh quietly. “Simon, what about this is funny?” She’s planted both her hands on her hips, and is glaring at the two of us as though we’ve spit on the ground in front of her.

“Well of course he’s not hyphenating his name again! Can you imagine? It already doesn’t fit on any forms and no one knows how to spell it, you really want him to add another name to that mess?” He relaxes a little, even though Penny still looks like she wants to hurt us. Mordelia is failing to stifle her giggles from the other side of the table. “Besides, I’m taking his name, I don’t see why we both have to do it.”

I can’t see his face, so he grabs my wrist, giving me a few seconds notice. I loosen my grip on him and he spins, grasping my shoulders. “Why do you want my monstrosity of a last name?”

“Well, I don’t have one, do I? Snow was supposed to be my middle name, and I figure I can take your last name and then it’ll be how it’s supposed to.” He considers that for a moment, then kisses my forehead, and turns to look at Penny.

“Are you happy now? We’ve had the conversation before we got engaged.”

“We are engaged.”

“I know. I don’t want to be annoyed with you today so I’m choosing not to think about that.” He looks at me over his shoulder. “Simon, go put on a good shirt. We have to leave soon.”

“I still don’t understand why you’re doing this at lunch.”

“It was supposed to be a bloody surprise! That was the whole point of it being lunch, not dinner!”

Mordelia starts cackling, and I run down the hall before he can decide which of us deserves a smack more, leaving her to her fate.

* * *

**Baz**

I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, Penelope says, “Basilton, if you ask me one more time if I think this is a good idea, I will go ask Simon what he thinks.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Do you want to bet your last surprise on that?” My silence is answer enough. She sighs, and says, “For the fourteenth time today, it will only work if he really wants it. That’s the best part.” She holds out her arms, and I hesitate for a moment before stepping forward and accepting the hug. Her face presses against my chest, and for a moment she squeezes me tight enough that I don’t feel like I’m falling apart. Then she steps back and says, “It’s time, Basil. Enough plotting. It’s time to see how he feels.” I take a deep breath, and walk inside the restaurant.

**Mordelia**

“Snow, shut up. I absolutely cannot listen to you discuss this any more.”

“I’ve asked you twice why he sent me in a cab with you. I’ve been mostly silent. Do you know why?”

I groan, and say, “No, Simon, I do not know why. I wish I did so that I would have an answer for you. I do know that Penelope was really his partner in crime in this whole endeavor, but in her absence he settled for annoying the shit out of me. He’s really nervous, and I don’t know why. I do know that it’s gotten worse since you proposed.” He shifts in his seat. “I think it was so easy for you, so spur of the moment, that he’s worried if his doesn’t go off without a hitch you won’t like it as much.”

“Does he remember that he didn’t even say yes to me? I am going to say yes to him, that much I can promise you.” That gets a chuckle out of me.

“Simon, all I know is that you two are disgustingly in love, and that he’s both a Pitch and a Grimm. We don’t do half-assed proposals.” With that we pull up to the restaurant, and I throw open my door, climbing out onto the pavement. Simon rounds the car and offers me his arm. Baz is right, he really does look good in a suit. I look up at him and ask, “Are you ready? Everyone is waiting for us.” He takes a deep breath, and nods, and we walk in.

**Baz**

They walk in, both looking stunning, and I catch a glimpse of something else, of Simon walking another girl across a room, a girl I don’t recognize. And then his eyes find us on the balcony, and he lights up, and the only thing stopping him from tripping his way across the room is Mordelia’s death grip on his arm, and I am snapped back to right now.

I’m not sure that I’m going to make it through this whole dinner. He is so beautiful, and I am so nervous, and I just want him to know. They reach me, and Mordelia reaches up on her tiptoes and kisses me on the cheek, whispering something I don’t quite catch about “nightmare fiancé” and “unnecessary plotting.”

My nightmare fiancé takes my hand as we sit. He leans over and asks, “So how many people know I know?” 

“Penny and Mordelia, and probably Shep, so hush.”

He chuckles. “Would you like to give me your ring, then?” I wince and slip it off my finger, dropping it into his open palm. He sits up, and fakes adjusting his jacket to put the ring in his pocket with such grace that I wonder if he’s practiced that. He notices, and pulls a ballpoint pen out of his pocket. A few moments later he drops a folded up napkin in my lap.

_ I remembered in the cab. Mordy taught me that. Are you impressed? _

I laugh too loudly, and all of a sudden I remember why I’m doing this. I remember that it’s not about tonight, it’s about a lifetime of napkins dropped in my lap, and wondering why he has a 50 pence ballpoint pen in his suit pocket. And I realize that I absolutely cannot wait until after dinner, because he already gave me that ring, and I don’t want him to have to take it back, not even for the next hour and a half.

“Change of plans.” Penny looks up from her menu and sighs.

“I swear, the two of you are terrible. Now?” She’s exasperated, and I hear Mordelia groan, but they’re also both ready to go at a moment’s notice.

“Yes, please.” Simon is looking at us curiously, but he’s going to let me have my moment. The rest of the group has noticed the change in atmosphere, even Dev and Niall, who had been bickering with Agatha at the end of the table. They’re all looking at us, waiting for me to make my next move. I look back to Simon.

“Simon,” and he smiles, wider than should be possible, “I have loved you for longer than I care to admit.” Mordelia snorts.

“Kick her, Aggie.” I flick Simon on the shoulder as Mordelia dives into Daphne’s lap and Agatha laughs.

“And I’m going to ask you to think back to when I started allowing you to see that.” His brow knits together, and I know he’s thinking:  _ Which time? _

“Do you remember the stars?” His eyes widen, and it’s clear that he knows exactly what I’m talking about. Now is the moment of truth. “Can you think about that for a moment? About us and the stars.”

**Simon**

I have no idea why he’s brought this up. We don’t talk about this much anymore. It’s too painful for both of us to think back to when I had my magic. But I would trust him with my life, and I know there’s a point to this.

So I think about the stars. He was brilliant then, and it was, for lack of a better word, magical. All of my power and all of his control. We were drunk from it, from the exhilaration. From sharing something so wonderful. He takes my hands. His wand is clutched in between our palms.

I’m looking into his grey eyes, the same way I was that night, so I don’t miss a thing. He leans forward and murmurs, for just me to hear, “Don’t let go, okay?” I nod. He sits back, and for a moment more, he just looks into my eyes. My heart is pounding. I am remembering the stars.

And then he commits. He never breaks eye contact.

**_“As you wish.”_ **

I can’t let go of his hands; he has mine in a vice grip, so even if I wanted to I couldn’t pull away, but I am holding on with everything I am.

It feels like there’s a current running through me. Like he’s injected fire into my veins. Like he’s the only thing holding me to this earth. I feel my wings pop and realize that that’s what Penny’s job is, and Mordelia’s, because they’re making sure that no Normals come anywhere near us for the next little while. 

Baz is still looking at me, and while I no longer feel frozen, it’s still too much. I think it’s more than he expected, because he looks shell-shocked too. Everyone else keeps asking us if we’re okay. He must have told Pen and Mordy what his plan was, because they’re waiting quietly. But we’ve never told anyone about the stars. That part is just for us.

All of a sudden, I notice that his hands are shaking, and mine are too. Honestly, if I didn’t know what had happened, I’d be concerned; we’re just sitting here, trembling silently. And so, rather than keep everyone on tenterhooks, I launch myself forward.

He wraps me up in a hug, and we’re just holding each other as tightly as we can. After a few moments, I pull away and look him in the face. “Is this forever?” I can hear everyone else buzzing behind us, wondering  _ what _ might be forever.

He’s so calm when he says, “It is what you wished it was,” that I let loose a giddy laugh.

“So you don’t know, then?” He shakes his head with a small smile.

“I think my father may be about to have a heart attack.”

“I don’t think that telling him what you just did is going to reduce the chance of that happening.”

“You’re probably right, but I think we should tell him anyway.”

“I am not protecting you from whatever he throws at you.”

“I suppose that’s fair. Although you are the one with giant wings.” He gets a laugh with that one. “Mordelia, are you prepared to either catch Father or restrain him?” She grins.

“Basilton, what in the name of Merlin have you done?”

“I had Simon think of a time, back at Watford, when we shared magic. And then I allowed whatever he was wishing for, at that moment, to be true.” I can see the gears turning in his family’s heads as they process.

“So, Simon, what did you wish?” Agatha is a little shit, and she knows it too, given how she’s smirking at the two of us. She’s clearly enjoying watching Malcolm’s head explode.

“I was just thinking that I missed it. I missed magic, and having it, and sharing it with Baz. And then we were sharing it again. It doesn’t feel like mine, so it must be his.” Baz is just watching his father. Honestly, I don’t think Malcolm really knows what to do with this information, because he’s still just sitting there.

Mordelia clears her throat. “Baz, I hate to be a bother, but isn’t there something you’re forgetting.” 

He shakes his head. “I don’t think s- oh!” He twists in his seat, and starts with, “Simon, will you do me the honor - ”

He doesn’t get far before I interrupt. “Nope, you got the whole thing, I want the whole thing.” Mordelia is trying not to laugh. He rolls his eyes, but pushes back his chair and sinks down on one knee, pulling a ring box out of his pocket.

“Simon, will you marry me?” 

“Yeah, I guess I kind of have to now.”

“You couldn’t just say yes?”

“I would like to point out that my first word was ‘yeah,’ and unless you want Mordelia to publicly shame you, you should be quiet and give me my ring.”

“You make a fair point.” I hold out my hand and he slips my ring on for me. He’s right, they don’t match at all.

“Do you want yours back?”

“Obviously.” He holds out his hand, and I fish his ring out of my pocket, offering it to him. “Well, put it on me.” I oblige, and he stands for a moment and kisses me, then sits back in his chair.

“Fix the wings for me?” He pulls out his wand and spells them away, and we both gasp. His magic swirls through me, through us. It’s like it’s pouring out the front of me, through him, and back around behind me to my wings. It feels nothing and everything like I remember. It feels the same, but like now, we both know that we’re going to make it out alive. And then it’s done, and I take a breath, and he’s even fixed my suit where the back was blown apart to make room for the wings.

“Well,” and he’s smirking, “that’s going to take some getting used to.”

“Yes, it certainly is.” The next bit I whisper just for him. “Remind me to explain our mismatched rings when we get home.” I kiss him, but after a moment something hits him on the side of his face. He jerks back, startled, and the only possible culprit is Mordelia. He opens his mouth to tell her off, but she’s beaten him to the punch.

“I think you owe everyone an explanation about the not actually saying yes and the double rings. I know what’s going on and I’m still confused, and I really don’t think Father is ever going to speak again unless you explain better.”

After a glance at their father, Baz seems to agree, and as he starts to tell the story of my proposal, he finds my hand under the table. I can feel the cold metal of his ring, and I allow myself to think, before I pull myself back to the present, that I will get to feel that there for the rest of our lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Malcolm is fine with Simon at this point, but his brain literally short-circuited when he realized Baz had shared his magic. There are a lot of really weird ideas in Carry On about how magic is passed down, and "diluting" magic by having more than one child, so you can imagine how he would react to the idea that Baz had just split his with Simon. Honestly, I don't think Baz really cares how he feels about it. Malcolm already came around once, and he will again. Especially because Daphne and Mordelia already have.
> 
> The important thing here is that Simon wasn't wishing to have his magic back in that moment. He wanted to be able to share magic with Baz, because that's the only time he has ever felt like his magic was a good thing instead of a curse. So now, any time either of them uses magic, it's going to be a shared experience. 
> 
> If you caught it, Simon and Baz have opposite experiences here for a moment, each sparked by the other. Baz asks Simon to remember their past, and Simon makes Baz catch a glimpse of what their future could be, though he doesn't dwell on that.
> 
> There will be an epilogue, because I want to provide more context for some things.


	7. The Most Passionate, The Most Pure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some explanations for all your epilogue needs, but mostly my epilogue needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, every single day this week has felt like it should be Friday, but none more than today. I just got out of quarantine and my dorm room is full of mold, so now I have to clean the mold off of all my belongings and move everything out of that room so maintenance can clean it. It's just been an awful first two weeks of college as far as everything outside of academics goes, and I wanted to spread some joy on this miserable (for me) Thursday evening, so here you go! It's short, but it's an epilogue, so.

**Baz**

We stumble through the door to our flat giggling. We’re definitely drunk, but I think that’s okay. We just got engaged, again. We’re allowed to be drunk and giggly.

Penelope agreed to come by tomorrow afternoon to pick up her things after watching us shift progressively closer together throughout the last half hour of our fairly long lunch. I think the only thing that kept Simon from climbing in my lap was Mordelia watching him with a stack of balled up paper napkins that she brought with her.

We kick off our shoes and migrate through the living room to our bedroom. Simon is pulling me down to the bed with him, and I let him. We are a mess, but I’ve long since accepted that. We can keep being a mess together forever.

* * *

We’re lying in bed, long after we should have fallen asleep. I’m listening to Simon’s heart beat and he’s playing with my hair. I remember something, thinking back on the night.

“Why _are_ our rings mismatched?” He chuckles quietly.

“By the time Penny told me they were supposed to match I already had yours.”

“How is that possible? I told her that two days after we talked.”

“I’ve had your ring for a long time.”

“How long?” I tilt my head up to look at him. He’s considering me, thinking his response through. It’s very un-Simon.

“Two, two and a half years, probably. I got it around the time we moved in together. I left it in the pocket of one of the jumpers I stole from you when we were first dating. You never got that far back in my side of the closet.” I look up at him in wonder.

“You were ready that long ago?” I can’t believe I’ve kept him waiting this long; if he was ready to we should have been doing this earlier.

He interrupts my train of thought with, “No. I just knew that I would be ready one day. And that if you ever snuck in a proposal on me I wanted to have a ring to give to you.”

He is the person I will spend the rest of my life with, and I hadn’t realized he’d known I felt that way then. We were coming out of a difficult place, and I was doing my best not to overwhelm him. I turn and press a kiss to his chest, above his heart. His heartbeat speeds up, and I smirk against his chest.

“I guess we have to change your ring so it matches mine, because there’s no way I’m giving this one up, and they have to match. Besides, it looks good.” And then, because I’m getting less drunk, “What was Penny talking about last night?”

“Huh?”

“She said she had changed her answer about something to yes.”

“Oh. Before we moved in together, when I was getting better but you two were still walking on eggshells around me, I sat down one day and watched _The Princess Bride_. I was trying to sort through how I felt about us. And you know Buttercup’s line about, _“You cannot break that, not with a thousand swords?”_

“Of course. It’s her only redeeming moment.”

“True. But anyway, I asked Penny if she thought that was possible, that kind of love. She said she didn’t know, that she used to think so but she didn’t know anymore.”

“What did you say?”

“That I disagreed with her, that it is possible. Also that love can bring people back from the brink of death, or something. Something that felt applicable to us, I don’t remember exactly.”

“So she changed her answer to yes?”

“Yeah. I think the only main difference between us is that we killed our Humperdinck.”

“He deserved it.”

“Yeah, he did.”

“Si?”

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I fall asleep with my head on his chest, his fingers tangled in my hair, my magic thrumming through the both of us in time with our breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they get to be happy! I needed to write an explanation about the rings for me, and also I wanted Baz to know about what Penny said, so that's this.
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed this, even all the gratuitous Princess Bride references, because I know I have!
> 
> Thanks for reading, stay safe, and wear your masks!

**Author's Note:**

> _SPOILERS FOR IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST FIC IN THE SERIES_
> 
> So remember how I said I wanted to write Baz's proposal? Turns out it needs some set-up, and this is part of that. Also, it's an excuse for me to write about other people enjoying my favorite movie, which makes me happy.  
> I hope you like this, and I'm sorry for the angst. It doesn't make me happy, but I do think it's necessary for the eventual payoff.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
